The Cat’s Out of the Bag- Apple’s Event and New iPhones in Focus

It’s official. Apple sent out invitations to all the cool kids today, and to absolutely no one’s surprise, the happy day is Wednesday, September 12 at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park. For all us small timers and working stiffs, there’s always the video stream. Not that I’m complaining. Apple’s now polished video streams certainly beat the old days of following live blogs to get the news as things unfolded.

The invitation is certainly interesting, but don’t get your hopes up for a round face Apple Watch, revamped trash can Mac Pro, or any other crazy round product. Apple evidently sells a shirt with this same design in the gift shop of their new Apple Park campus with, you guessed it, Apple Park in place of Gather round as the label.

Remember that, while last year’s iPhone event was held in the Steve Jobs Theater on the campus, the main building was not fully open and occupied at that time. So this will be the first event on the now fully-operational Apple battle station. Let’s be honest- no matter what the reason behind it, this invite looks exceptionally sharp, even by Apple standards.

A tip of the cap to 9to5Mac. One of the mainstays of the Apple blogosphere for many years, they beat out their old pal Mark Gurman to some big scoops today. Above, you see an image of the two new flagship iPhones that are coming in a few weeks.

The smaller one on top will supposedly be called the iPhone XS. Really, Apple? REALLY??? Did no one stop and think that this might be the time to dump the “S” to avoid your phone being the butt of a million jokes? I mean, it kind of fits, but this name is also a lesson in arbitrary marketing and branding decisions. You skip 9 and go straight to 10. You use a Roman numeral X instead of 10. You forego the Plus size for a year. Apple already threw the normal playbook out the window last year. Why bother with an S and a ready-made pun now?

In other news, the gold iPhone X that we barely (according to an FCC filing) missed out on also makes an appearance in the pic above. It looks sharp to me, and I will definitely be getting one. The jury is still out on whether we will get the rumored multiple color options in the less expensive 6.1″ LCD iPhone.

The big news, in more ways than one, is our first look at the new 6.5″ iPhone. Will it be called the iPhone XS Plus? I really hope this is someone at Apple having a little fun with the rumor mill.

Name aside, you get a clear look at how much bigger it will be. Like rumors have suggested, it should be very much like a current Plus model minus the bezels and Home Button. In other words, it looks AWESOME!! I’ve been looking forward to this phone since I got my X at launch last year. It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that it was coming, and now it’s almost here.

9to5Mac With the Apple Watch Win, Too

Have yourself a day, 9to5Mac! They doubled up with another exclusive leaked image. This time it is the also eagerly anticipated Apple Watch Series 4. Somewhere, Mark Gurman and Ming-Chi Kuo are wondering why their sources are slacking.

I’m honestly not sure what I think of this particular Watch Face, but I do appreciate that Apple is pushing the limits of what can be done with a little more room on the display. While I may not want this much content on the screen at the same time, I do like the angled complications that take advantage of the room in the corners.

There are always a few new Watch Faces, and with more screen real estate for the first time, I expect there will be more than usual this year. I’m definitely looking forward to that.

iPad Pro and the new MacBook MIA?

It is interesting that, while some Apple writers like Rene Ritchie think all of the company’s new gear will be announced at the September 12 event, the new iPad Pros and MacBook were nowhere to be found. While I love the iPad and this site will always love and support its namesake product, today’s leaks are indicative of the current pecking order of Apple gear. The iPhone rules all, with the Apple Watch in a solid second place. Everything else, including my beloved iPad Pro, are well behind this power pair.

New iPad Pros are still almost certainly coming this Fall. The fact that pics didn’t hit the net today isn’t indicative of anything other than the tablet’s place in the food chain. As useful as I still find the iPad, it just doesn’t have the sales and profits to put it on the same level as the still-growing Watch and wearables ecosystem.

One thing’s for certain- we are less than two weeks from Apple’s iPhone announcement. If today’s leaks are any indication, we should know a lot more about all of their new hardware very soon.